The world of Caith is in motion in the first look at the crowdfunded game for The Bard's Tale IV. The game will return to the classic format of the original Bard's Tale and is headed up by the creator of the franchise Brian Fargo.
The game continues the story from the previous games, as you can read below...
In a hundred and fifty years, even the bravest deeds become nothing more than bard's tales. Most people today in Skara Brae don't believe Mangar, Lagoth Zanta, Tarjan, or the brave adventurers who defeated them and their horrors were ever more than legends - and those that do still believe keep silent.
Ever since the Church of the Sword Father civilized the land of Caith and chased out the heathen a hundred years ago, the new Skara Brae, built on top of its ruined predecessor, has become a god-fearing town, where it is dangerous to admit to harboring such superstitious notions or knowing anything of the old ways.
Which is unfortunate, because it's starting to look like the trolls and bloodfiends and hobgoblins from all those fairy stories have returned. Terrible things have been happening in Skara Brae -people slaughtered in their beds by unseen beasts, holy sites desecrated, folk disappearing between field and home, statues of the Mad God found in bloodstained back alleys, and the Song of the Maiden heard again for the first time in a generation. And worse, the people most equipped to deal with these old threats have been made outlaws.
Since the advent of the Fatherites, the practice of magic has been made a sin, and the old races of elf, dwarf, and trow have been banished, with all known ways to their realms smashed and sealed. And now, unable to stop the horrors that have been preying upon Skara Brae, the church has decided to put the blame for them on the Adventurer's Guild, shutting it down and calling its members cultists, witches, and pagans who must be burned at the stake for their unholy crimes.
But though the Guild is boarded up, it lives on in the Skara Brae beneath Skara Brea. Heroes gather nightly in the old sewers, exchanging rumors of fresh footprints in ancient crypts, of lights in the ruined towers of foes centuries dead, and of the Fuath and the Famhair, and a madman who would sacrifice the world to bring about their return.
With the Fatherites turning their backs on the truth and hunting down those who would tell it, the adventurers know they have no one to turn to but themselves. To survive, the elves and the dwarfs and the trow, and the men and women of Caith who still keep the old ways, must now band together and protect a land that wants them dead.
Prepare for a lot of first-person dungeon crawling, puzzle solving, and more! I know the original game has a huge cult following so I'm sure this return to form will be loved by all fans of the classic gaming days.
No details as to when the game is actually coming out, but you can pledge your support and receive a copy on Steam as soon as it launches here!
